Can you believe that for 7 years, pitchers in Major League Baseball were allowed to throw underhand? You all heard about them, the craziest of craziest baseball rules from the past. Some still exist today, but only in places like the playground or during a “pick up” game on a hot summer day. The article we found over at Jock And Balls seems to be just about the best article we have ever found about these crazy on-field routines. Here are just a few…
Disgusting!!!
10. Pitchers Could Cover Balls With Just About Anything
Before 1920, pitchers could cover the ball with spit, Vaseline, road kill, Nickelodeon slime or whatever the hell else they wanted. It apparently worked. That Babe Ruth guy didn’t start hitting a billion home runs a year until they outlawed it. We don’t actually know for a fact they used road kill, but that whole ‘Dead Ball Era’ thing would make more sense if they did.
CHEATERS!!!
6. Hitters Had Flat Bats
For some reason that we can’t figure out, hitters used to have flat bats until 1893. They really took their cricket influence seriously. Why did they want to use paddle bats? Maybe they wanted to spank the ball. Sounds pretty lame to us.
My Personal Favorite
2. Batters Could Call For The Type Of Pitch They Wanted
From 1867-1887, batters had the privilege of calling for a low pitch or a high pitch. What was the point of pitching? Did the pitcher also have to wipe the batter after they went to the bathroom?
Most of these rules are just way beyond unrealistic. This article made me realize just how far baseball in America has really come.
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